Roughly one in ten chips made anywhere comes from Singapore, and about a fifth of the world’s semiconductor manufacturing equipment is built there. The city-state now wants that weight to carry a brand: SG Semiconductor, launched on Friday by Trade and Industry Minister Tan See Leng as a common national identity for the sector.
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research and the Economic Development Board built the initiative, which will start by promoting public-sector research. Seven research areas sit inside the brand, among them advanced packaging, silicon photonics, gallium nitride radio frequency devices and flat optics.
New research agreements landed alongside the announcement, with Applied Materials, GlobalFoundries and KLA among the firms widening their work with A*Star on advanced packaging and silicon photonics.
Manufacturing contributes about 20 percent of gross domestic product, which is why officials describe the effort as defensive as much as promotional. EDB managing director Jermaine Loy called the brand a gateway for companies to develop, scale and commercialise next-generation technology locally. A*Star chief executive Beh Kian Teik said it signals a long-term commitment to anchoring high-value research and production on the island, and Tan warned the position should not be taken for granted.
